Chapter 23

“Is that all you have to say?”
“Yes.”

Kerum tapped the armrest of his chair with his fingers.
He tried to appear calm, but it was not easy to hide his impatience.

“It has been three years. And the only thing worth reporting to me is an assassination attempt?”
“…….”
“Of course, it is an important matter. It means someone here dared to commit that kind of foolish act. But that is not what I wanted to hear.”
“Then please tell me what you want from me.”

Lucas was not unaware of the emperor’s intent.

What was it that he wanted?
For Lucas to join the knight order and resolve the troubled times.
For him to raise Oratio’s fallen prestige.
That was the Lucas Kerum wanted.
It was the mind of an emperor who put the nation first.

But Lucas had no intention of doing so.
He would resolve the troubled times, but he had no intention of returning to the knight order.
Moreover, something like Oratio’s prestige didn’t matter to him at all.

“……Enough. How could I ever break that will of yours? I will take care of what you asked, so withdraw.”

Lucas lowered his head in greeting.

In the exact same manner as three years ago, Lucas left the audience chamber.
Exactly as they had then, everyone parted to the sides.

Clatter.

Then the door closed, and just like then, commotion returned to the audience chamber.
But,

“All knights of the order. From this moment on, anyone who opens their mouth without my permission will be considered a traitor. Behead them immediately.”

Kerum’s voice silenced the commotion.

“…….”

His anger began to press down on the people.
The retainers and the knight order were equally flustered.

At his seething dark-red eyes, the retainers couldn’t open their mouths.

‘That fucking bastard.’

Even after becoming emperor, he couldn’t handle a single knight as he pleased.
How ridiculous was that?

It was so absurd that it made him furious.
Even so, there was nothing he could do.

Emperor.
One who reigned above all and represented all.
The position called emperor was one that could destroy a village or create a new one with a mere flick of the hand.

What made that possible?
The nation’s military power. Financial power. Intellectual power.
It was thanks to the power of the group that revered him as emperor.

That strength was founded on power so great it could not even be compared to other groups.

Even such an empire could not treat Lucas carelessly.
It was humiliating, but perhaps he should be grateful that Lucas didn’t treat the empire carelessly.

Military power. Financial power. Intellectual power.
Among those, it was true that the nation fell short of him in military power and intellect.
Some conservative retainers didn’t acknowledge it, but Kerum, who had watched him, knew.
The monster called Lucas was someone who stood above the empire.

That was why he had to be brought back under the empire’s command all the more.

To do that, first……

“Which incompetent fool is causing trouble for me?”

He had to weed out the useless chaff that only got in the way.

“Nothing happened.”

Lucas said this as he straightened his clothes.
He had met the emperor, said what he needed to say, and his opinion had been accepted without much trouble.
In the process, Kerum had been disappointed, and the retainers had looked at him with resentment, but none of that mattered.
Because in the end, he had achieved his objective.

“You went to meet the emperor because something happened, didn’t you? And you’re saying nothing happened in that situation? That makes no sense.”
“You look as if you were hoping something did happen.”
“Well……. Not exactly.”

Disappointment was clear in the boy’s eyes.

“No, it’s just kind of like that. You met the emperor of this huge empire, and your only impression is ‘nothing happened.’ Isn’t that kind of lame?”

There was a fact Lucas always overlooked.
The boy in front of him was only twelve years old.
Except for moments like this, there were many times when Lucas didn’t really feel that he was young.

“I do not care.”
“Tsk. Yes, yes, of course. Since it’s none of my business either, I’ll just train.”

Even a situation like this showed that.
It was certain his body had been strained.
His trembling arms, heavy-looking shoulders, and hesitant steps were proof of that.
Even so, the boy chose training instead of rest.
Was it the grit he had gained when he was a beggar?
Either way was fine.

Regardless of innate talent, those with more grit grew faster and stronger.

“Let’s go out.”
“Go out?”
“There is still time before the sun sets. And there is something I need to teach you in a wider space.”
“Oh……. Well, fine.”

The place the two headed to was a nearby vacant lot.
It was a place with only flat dirt ground and few people around.
At sunset, it became the secret base of a few children.

‘How does he know about all these places?’

Serpens found the man in front of him fascinating every time.
He seemed to know everything, and he was talented at all sorts of things.
He looked like he didn’t take care of himself, but he exercised steadily.
Even looking back now, it was strange that he had come to Satus where Serpens had been, and that he had visited Killip Gorge as if it were nothing.

‘Is this what they call experience?’

Around the time he was thinking that.
Lucas grabbed his sword.

Swish.

Serpens also raised his sword.

“Your arms are shaking.”
“That isn’t my will.”
“You need to learn to control it to some extent.”
“I guess I will someday.”

The enormous greatsword leveled horizontally.
It was the unspoken signal that training was beginning.
In response, Serpens lowered his center of gravity.

Kwakang-!

“Khheut!”

A massive impact struck the boy.
The impact, combined with his muscle pain, felt even greater than before.

It was hard to follow with his eyes. But he could clearly see it.
There was no opening for a counterattack, but there was a slight opening to defend.
But the longer the exchange continued, the heavier his body became.
It wasn’t only because of muscle pain.
The speed of the consecutive attacks gradually increased.
Another level. Then another.
The threadlike openings to defend gradually disappeared.

Clang-!

In the end, Serpens’s sword was knocked flying into the air.

“Ah, shit…….”

The boy hurriedly grabbed the fallen sword.
This time, he attacked.
It was an attack he had tried his best with, but Lucas was blocking it far too easily.

“That is enough.”

Grab.

“……!”

Lucas caught the boy’s blade with his left hand.
More than any other emotion, the boy felt bewilderment first.

He had grabbed the blade with his hand.
Was that even possible?

Feeling the gap between them once again, Serpens let out a hollow laugh.
Lucas asked him a question.

“What were you thinking when you blocked the attacks?”
“That it was getting harder and harder?”
“……I will change the question. How did you block the attacks?”
“What do you mean, how did I block them? I saw them and blocked them.”
“…….”
“What?”

Swaek-

Lucas’s sword stopped right before the boy’s nose.
Serpens swallowed with wide eyes.

“You could not see it this time. How do you plan to block something like this?”
“Uh…….”

There was no way he could block it.
He had not even seen the preparatory movement for swinging the sword.
If Lucas had wanted to, he surely would have died without even realizing it.

“I don’t know.”
“Then you die.”
“Haha…….”

The boy scratched his cheek bitterly.
He had improved quite a bit compared to the first training session.
He thought he had gotten a little used to handling a sword.
He thought his grip had grown stronger, and that he could hold his balance better.
But that was only his own judgment.
He still had far too long a way to go.

“It is fine. If you are lacking, you can learn.”
“……Thanks. But I want to grow quickly.”
“Cast that thought aside. If you rush, you are bound to get indigestion. Even if it takes a long time, you need to learn properly so that problems do not appear later.”
“I understand.”

Lucas swept back his long hair.
His features were fully revealed.
At those strong yet clear features, Serpens’s face crumpled.
The world was unfair after all.

“What I will teach you is not something immediately useful. But the more skilled you become with this technique, the more useful it will be.”
“What is it?”
“It is cultivating your sense.”
“Cultivating…… my sense?”

Serpens stared blankly at Lucas.
Lucas looked at the boy for a moment, then let out a sigh.

“Not the persimmon¹ you eat.”
“Ah.”

Lucas let go of his sword.
Serpens, unable to get a sense of what he was trying to do, only continued staring blankly.

“There are broadly two ways to block an opponent’s attack. Reaction and prediction.”
“Reaction and prediction?”
“Yes. What you are doing is one hundred percent reaction.”
“Don’t you obviously have to react in order to block?”

Lucas shook his head.

“The reaction I am talking about is not that primitive thing. The moment right before impact. In other words, blocking in a panic when the sword has come right before your nose. That is reaction.”
“Hmm……. That’s hard. Then what is prediction?”
“It is simple. It is predicting where the attack will come from by putting together where the opponent has placed their center of gravity, how much force they have loaded, where their gaze is directed, what technique they intend to use, and so on.”

Bewilderment spread across the boy’s face.

“That is simple?”

Everything Lucas had said was difficult even for the boy to apply to himself.
His center of gravity did not fully go where he thought, his strength was often excessive or weak, and he did not even know where his gaze should be directed.

How was he supposed to observe others when he did not know how to control his own body?

“It would not be simple for you.”
“…….”
“Then we make it simple for you.”
“Is that possible?”
“There is nothing you cannot grow used to if you make an effort. Once you grow used to it, it will become simple.”
“Hmm……. I understand. Then how do I train this sense?”
“Anyone can train to predict an opponent’s attack.”
“Really?”

Thud.

A dull sound echoed through the vacant lot.
At the same time, Serpens tumbled backward.
A massive pain reverberated through the boy’s abdomen.
Was this truly the pain of being hit by a fist?
It felt as if he hadn’t been hit, but pierced through.

“Kheok! What…… is this……!”

Serpens clutched his abdomen and stood up.
His legs trembled, and he began to gag.

“There is one path to learning how to predict an opponent’s attack. Accumulating experience.”

Lucas slowly approached.
The sky slowly began to turn red.

“Ah……! Wait. Don’t come closer!”

The middle-aged man slowly rolled the wrist he had used.
The sound of his bones cracking only deepened the boy’s fear.

“There is nothing better than getting hit to increase your experience in predicting attacks.”
“Ha……. Fuck.”

The boy’s sunset was especially long today.
Very, very long.

“It’s morning.”

The boy opened his eyes to dazzling sunlight coming through the window.
He had no memory of falling asleep the night before.
His most recent memory was being hit by Lucas, then hit again, and hit again.
He had clearly been carried in while unconscious.

Even when he looked around the inn room, Lucas was nowhere to be seen.
It was familiar.
The boy had never once seen Lucas sleeping until now.

‘He sleeps later than me and wakes up earlier than me.’

The boy was not the type to sleep a lot.
He only fell asleep long after the sun set and woke not long after the sun rose.
It was not necessarily because of training.
It was a habit ingrained in him since childhood.
Because he was hungry, because he was cold, because he was chased, and so on.
After being driven by all kinds of reasons like that, he had naturally ended up sleeping little.

‘Does he even sleep?’

To think he slept even less than Serpens.
It went beyond surprise and was enough to make him worry.
But……

‘Well, that guy probably takes care of himself.’

What the boy had to worry about first was his own body.

His steps as he moved to the first floor to eat were a mess.
The places he had been hit throbbed like crazy, and along with them, his endless muscle pain hummed.

‘Every step is hell.’

The boy grabbed the stair railing and staggered down.
Serpens wanted to applaud himself for not falling.

But before he had the chance, a new misfortune came for the boy.

“What is this……?”

Lucas was seated in the center of the inn.
As he drank tea with the same expression as usual, he looked quite relaxed.

The problem was his surroundings.
The Oratio guards were sprawled all around him.